Samar, Stivi and the rest walked up the stairs and stood at the intersections that led to the six halls of the Combat Professions.
The six halls were dedicated to the Elven variations of the six combat classes:
Rangers.
Natureguards.
Warblades.
Druids.
Elementalists.
Sprite Speakers
Six of them looked at each other and smiled.
Each of them had already made their choice and reaffirmed it on their journey so far. There was no need to hesitate and the party of six separated as each went into their respective profession's halls.
Zamir and Stivi had chosen the Weapon Specialists class, so they went to the Warblade hall.
BigSoftie made his way to Natureguard Hall, HardBro to the Elementalist Hall, and MamaMia was excited to be a Druid.
After seeing them leave, Samar pushed open the doors to the Ranger Hall and walked in, searching for an instructor.
What greeted him instead was an arrow. He tried to duck to the side, but the arrow had already reached him.
Fortunately, it was not aimed at him but embedded itself on the wooden table next to the door. There was an ordinary quiver and a bow placed on the table along with a note.
Samar picked up the note and the strange elvish words on it translated themselves into a language he could understand.
"Deathless Being, complete the test to see whether you have a destiny with my lineage."
Immediately, a notification for a quest dinged in his ears.
-----
[Instructor Dhron's Test]
[There are 7 targets hidden in the premises of Ranger Hall. Find and destroy all of them using the weaponry provided. You will be rewarded according to your score.]
[5 Points: Ranger Class.]
[7 Points: Mark of the Archer.]
[10 Points: Special Skill- Homing Arrow.]
[Warning! Your Projectile Guidance System will be deactivated for the duration of the Test.]
------
'Who begins an introduction with a test?' Samar muttered with irritation but in his heart he was quite pleased by this surprise twist. Adrenaline pumped in his veins, and he had already developed a fondness for Instructor Dron.
Quickly he equipped the Bow and Quiver on the table, replacing his Redwood Longbow. His eyes began to scan the hall that resembled a forest with tall trees and branches, limiting his vision.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from his left. Samar whipped his neck in the direction of the sound and caught a glimpse of the small red circle hidden in the foliage.
Without thinking, he got in position in a fraction of a second, his aim locked on to the target. In the next moment, his arrow was zooming towards the red circle.
Shatter!
A sound of clay breaking signaled he had successfully hit the target, and it reflected in the quest window.
[First Target Destroyed. +1 Point.]
After checking the notification, he moved on to search for the other targets hiding in the forest.
The next target revealed itself to be on the head of a clay deer peeking from behind a thick trunk of a tree. Its clay form expertly camouflaged against the bark but could not fool his vigilant eyes.
The bowstring hummed in his hands as he released the arrow, and the satisfying shatter echoed through the hall. Two down, eight to go.
With each step, the Ranger Hall transformed into a labyrinth of challenges, and he was enjoying every moment of it. The targets were hidden in all kinds of places. A red flower peeking through the mud to the sole red leaf in a dense green foliage.
He was in a constant state of alert, and the absence of Projectile Guidance System made him even more vigilant. As he searched for the next target, he was forced to employ his every sense.
This led him to a realization. Although vision was an important sensory stimulus, hunting was not solely dependent on his eyesight. His other senses also played an important role.
For the first time Samar truly focused his other senses and became acutely aware of his surroundings.
The subtle rustling sounds of leaves, rays of sun peeking through the foliage, moist and mushy forest floor, and a cool breeze that brought with it a distinct smell of baked clay.
His eyes acted on the clue found by his nose. He searched the treetops and found a clay squirrel holding a larger-than-average red-colored nut.
He decided to challenge himself a little more and only knock the nut out of the squirrel's hands while keeping the clay squirrel intact.
The precision required to execute this plan was much higher than his skill level, but the adrenaline in his veins assured him that he could succeed. All he needed to do was aim.
Samar trained his weapon towards the target and slowly narrowed his eyes.
Red Nut in the hands of a clay squirrel sitting on a tree branch…
Red Nut in the hands of a clay squirrel…
The Red Nut…
He slowly ignored and eliminated the objects in his vision and solely focused on his target.
Then his hands moved on instinct. He didn't even realize he had released the arrow until he saw it zoom towards the Red Nut.
Badump! Badump!
His heart beat with excitement as the arrow crossed the short distance of 50 meters. The flight did not even take a second yet that short time felt like an eternity.
Finally, the arrow pierced through the Red Nut and broke it into pieces while leaving the clay squirrel unharmed.
He had achieved his goal! A surge of euphoria from his accomplishment washed over him. The system also acknowledged his achievement by rewarding him 5 points of the hidden stat, Dexterity.
However, as he checked the notifications, he remembered that he was in the middle of a quest. This was only the sixth target, but something unusual happened.
The number of destroyed targets was 6 but his score had jumped up from 5 to 7!
It meant this shot was worth 2 points!
"Bravo! That was a great shot. Now prepare for your last target." An aged voice sounded through the forest, reminding him that Instructor Dhron was watching his performance.
Samar readied his Bow and notched an arrow. His breath made a slow whistling sound as he deeply inhaled to steady his nerves.
Whoosh!
Eyes sharp, he let out the air in his lungs all at once and moved deeper into the forest. The warning from Instructor Dhron echoed in his ears, making him aware of the unusualness of the last target.
Caw!
Suddenly, he heard a bird's cry coming from the forest straight in front of him.
Alert, he raised his bow and pulled the bowstring, ready to release the arrow at a moment's notice. Then with stealthy steps, he started to move forward.
He had only moved ahead a few tens of steps when suddenly something shot towards him. He quickly adjusted his vision and saw it was a clay figurine of a crow with a red target painted on its eye!
All the targets before were stationary, and he could take his time to take them down in a single shot.
However, this clay crow was soaring up into the air!
If he could not hit it before the end of its flight, he would miss one target and 3 whole points. For Samar, who desired the Homing Arrow skill more than anything, a result less than perfect was as good as failing the quest!
Unfortunately, the crow was not a mechanical construct which would stay airborne for a few minutes. It was merely an object thrown from the ground moving in a parabolic trajectory.
This gave him a window of just a few seconds to aim and release his arrow. If he was a second late, the crow would fall on the ground and shatter by itself.
Fortunately, the clay crow's straight path made reading its position easy. By the time he finished his calculations, the crow had reached the zenith of its parabolic flight.
Time seemed to stretch, and the forest became silent. Samar had closed off his other senses and once again entered an ethereal state of concentration.
As soon as the crow began its descent towards the ground, he released the drawn arrow. The forest held its breath, and for a brief moment, the world stood still with only the crow and the arrow moving to meet each other.
Shatter!
The arrow struck the crow and broke it into pieces, but he did not know whether it had hit the painted target on its head. It was not like he could go over and check because the forest around him had disappeared!
Samar had returned to a spartan Ranger Hall with a silver-haired elf sitting cross-legged on a simple seat. His eyes were closed, and he exuded a subtle aura of authority mixed with gentleness, just like a tree.
Even though Samar was eager to know the results, he dared not disturb the man. In the end, he could only wait in a nail-biting silence for the system to update the quest window.
After a brief moment of tension, a ding sounded, bringing him his verdict.
----
[Instructor Dhron's Test]
[Arrows used: 7/15]
[Targets Destroyed: 7/7]
[Score: 10/10]
[Congratulations! You have passed Instructor Dhron's Test.]
A perfect score! He had hit the Clay Crow's eye!
Samar cheered in his heart while a grin wide enough to reach his ears appeared on his face.
Just as he was celebrating, the silver-haired elf opened his eyes. Green color flashed in his eyes before it quickly passed.
He looked at Samar with a piercing gaze and said, "Well done, Deathless. You have proven yourself to be worthy of my teachings and that of my ancestors. Do you wish to walk the path of a Ranger?"
Samar didn't even need to think before answering 'Yes.' The old elf smiled genially. He got up from his seat and led Samar to a fountain that he didn't know existed in the Ranger Hall.
"Pay your respects to the Prime Elf, Jaitr. He is the one who created the Profession of Elven Rangers."
A statue of an inspiring figure with Bow slung on his shoulder stood tall at the center of the fountain. Two quivers full of arrows hung on his back, and a sharp horn dangled on his waist.
Even though the figure was made from stone, its eyes felt alive, like they were staring right at his soul.
Samar performed the traditional Elven greeting like Suvic had taught, causing the smile on Instructor Dhron's face to widen. Instructor Dhron then held a small ceremony for him. He chanted a hymn and activated the rune carved at the base of the fountain.
A strange yellowish light emerged from the rune and shined on him.
Samar felt a sense of discomfort deep within his bones, as if they were bathing in sun and gradually growing stronger.
The light continued to grow brighter every second, and he felt his muscles bulge. The VR suit that had fit him snuggly now felt like it was squeezing his body.
He was familiar with this sensation. The last time he had experienced it was when he had changed his race to Elf, and his body had absorbed Life Energy from the Longevity Tree's leaf.
Did that mean he was undergoing another baptism of Life Energy?
The possibility startled him, and he concentrated on trying to absorb as much energy as possible. He did not have any proven method to increase the rate of absorption but he simply regulated his breathing and matched the rhythm of his heartbeats. .
After a few seconds, the light reached its brightest point. Only now it provoked some changes in the Elven Emblem of Identity. A new sigil of a Bow appeared on the leaf-shaped Emblem, followed by notifications.
[You have received the Mark of an Archer. Archery Skills deal +5% Damage.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the Ranger Class.]
[Your Tier has risen from 0 to 1. Effectiveness of your stats has increased.]
[You have completed the achievement, 'Combat Professional'.]
[Eleven Faction Reputation +20.]
[You are the first Deathless Being to acquire the Ranger Class.]
[You have completed the achievement 'First of the many'.]
[Eleven Faction Reputation +100.]